John Scalish
Named as a defendant in the Apalachin conspiracy case, whose convictions were reversed in 1960; the subject of a Cleveland FBI file opened after the 1957 meeting; and described in 1988 Senate testimony by Angelo Lonardo and the FBI's Cleveland chief as boss of the Cleveland family until his death in 1976.
- Died
- 1976
- Aliases
- John T. Scalish
- Family
- Cleveland LCN family (testimony, 1988)
- Role
- boss of the Cleveland family from about 1949 (Angelo Lonardo, testimony, 1988); "for many years was boss of the Cleveland LCN Family" (FBI SAC Joseph E. Griffin, testimony, 1988)
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records and the filed newspaper pages state.
On the record
- 1948/1949 — Kefauver Committee, Cleveland (1951): committee counsel asked accountant Alvin E. Giesey about returns his firm prepared for John Scalish for 1948 and 1949.
- 1950-04 — FBI Cleveland file 92-167: "It was said that LOU ROTHKOPF had an interest in this gambling place [the Desert Inn] and that JOHN SCALISH represented the Italian element which also had an interest in the Desert Inn." An unevaluated report.
- 1953-10 — FBI Cleveland file 92-167: an informant said Al Polizzi was "the 'big boss' for the Mafia in the Ohio area," and that the "boss" for Cleveland "was said to be JOHN SCALISE ... subject only to POLIZZI." An informant's statement.
- 1957-11 — FBI Cleveland file 92-167: "This investigation was predicated upon information received from the Bureau advising that subject was allegedly present at the meeting of nationally known hoodlums at the home of JOSEPH BARBARA at Apalachin."
- 1960-11-28 — United States v. Bufalino: "John T. Scalish" was one of twenty defendants-appellants convicted of conspiring to give false testimony about the Apalachin gathering; the Second Circuit "Reversed and remanded with directions to dismiss the conspiracy count."
- 1940s — Angelo Lonardo's 1988 prepared statement: at his initiation at the Statler Hotel, "Present were John Scalish, the acting boss; Tony Milano, the underboss." Testimony.
- 1988-04-15 — Senate testimony of Angelo Lonardo: "John Scalish became boss of the Cleveland family around 1949. He took over for Al Polizzi." Testimony of FBI SAC Joseph E. Griffin: "John Scalish, who for many years was boss of the Cleveland LCN Family ... became boss in the mid-1940s." Both say he died in 1976.
The family and role lines quote two witnesses’ sworn testimony to the Senate in 1988; no court record filed here states his role, and the two witnesses date his rise differently (about 1949, or the mid-1940s). The FBI file’s statements are unevaluated informant reports. The death year is from the same testimony. The FBI file also records birth details from city records, which this page does not use.
Records
itemUnited States v. Bufalino, 285 F.2d 408 (2d Cir. 1960)Second Circuit opinion reversing the convictions of Russell Bufalino and nineteen others for obstructing justice and perjury after the 14 November 1957 gathering at Apalachin, New York. The court says the government offered no evidence of the meeting's purpose.
itemFBI Vault file on John ScalishThe FBI Vault's release of the Cleveland office file 92-167 on John T. Scalish, opened after the Bureau was told he had been at the November 1957 Apalachin meeting. Its background section collects informant reports from 1944 to 1957 about Scalish, the Desert Inn and the Cleveland 'syndicate'.itemSenate subcommittee hearing, 1988: testimony of Angelo LonardoOn 15 April 1988 Angelo Lonardo, testifying behind a screen under a court immunity order, told the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that he was 'the former underboss of the Cleveland organized crime family' and described its leaders, its Las Vegas casino income and its dealings with New York and Chicago.itemSenate subcommittee hearing, 1988: testimony of FBI Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Griffin, ClevelandJoseph E. Griffin, head of the FBI's Cleveland office, described two task-force RICO cases, 'Buzzmark' and 'Gangmurs', and walked the subcommittee through the Cleveland conflict of the 1970s between James Licavoli's faction and Danny Greene and John Nardi.itemSenate subcommittee hearing, 1988: prepared statement of Angelo LonardoThe written statement Angelo Lonardo filed with the Senate subcommittee in April 1988, printed from page 529: his initiation at the Statler Hotel in Cleveland, the people he says were present, the family's ties to New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Youngstown, and a chronology of Cleveland-area violence.itemKefauver Committee, Cleveland: testimony of accountant Alvin E. Giesey (January 1951)Cleveland accountant Alvin E. Giesey, whose firm prepared returns for Morris Kleinman, Moe Dalitz, Louis Rothkopf, Sam Tucker and others, testified about their joint holdings, including two-thirds of 10,000 shares of the Detroit Steel Corp.
itemFBI Vault file on John ScalishThe FBI Vault's release of the Cleveland office file 92-167 on John T. Scalish, opened after the Bureau was told he had been at the November 1957 Apalachin meeting. Its background section collects informant reports from 1944 to 1957 about Scalish, the Desert Inn and the Cleveland 'syndicate'.itemSenate subcommittee hearing, 1988: testimony of Angelo LonardoOn 15 April 1988 Angelo Lonardo, testifying behind a screen under a court immunity order, told the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that he was 'the former underboss of the Cleveland organized crime family' and described its leaders, its Las Vegas casino income and its dealings with New York and Chicago.itemSenate subcommittee hearing, 1988: testimony of FBI Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Griffin, ClevelandJoseph E. Griffin, head of the FBI's Cleveland office, described two task-force RICO cases, 'Buzzmark' and 'Gangmurs', and walked the subcommittee through the Cleveland conflict of the 1970s between James Licavoli's faction and Danny Greene and John Nardi.itemSenate subcommittee hearing, 1988: prepared statement of Angelo LonardoThe written statement Angelo Lonardo filed with the Senate subcommittee in April 1988, printed from page 529: his initiation at the Statler Hotel in Cleveland, the people he says were present, the family's ties to New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Youngstown, and a chronology of Cleveland-area violence.itemKefauver Committee, Cleveland: testimony of accountant Alvin E. Giesey (January 1951)Cleveland accountant Alvin E. Giesey, whose firm prepared returns for Morris Kleinman, Moe Dalitz, Louis Rothkopf, Sam Tucker and others, testified about their joint holdings, including two-thirds of 10,000 shares of the Detroit Steel Corp.